


Memory Matters

by awhitehead17



Series: Batfam Bingo 2019 [17]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Amnesia, Amnesiac Tim Drake, Angst, Batfam bingo 2019, Batfamily (DCU), Big Brother Dick, Big Brother Jason, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Confusion, Fluff, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurities, Small bit of manipulation, Suspicions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25078351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awhitehead17/pseuds/awhitehead17
Summary: When Tim wakes up with no memory of his life, he has no idea on what to do or think until a man greets him and offers some guidance. From that very first meeting Tim knew something was off about him and he comes to learn that everything is not what it seems.
Relationships: Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Ra's al Ghul
Series: Batfam Bingo 2019 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1325471
Comments: 19
Kudos: 214





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been such a nightmare to write. I've been working on it for weeks but I have finally gotten to a stage where I am somewhat happy with it and just want to publish it. 
> 
> This is done for 'amnesia' on my Batfam bingo 2019 card. And yes I am still doing 2019 stuff even though we're half way through 2020. But hey, life. This was also developed from an ask I got on Tumblr the other week. 
> 
> Enjoy! :D

Waking up was strange.

He tried processing some of his thoughts as he takes in the unfamiliar ceiling above him and finds that nothing comes to mind. There were no thoughts but only the ones he’s thinking now. What was going on? What happened?

Initial panic starts spiralling inside of him once he realises that he can’t remember what happened. The panic gets worse when he realises he couldn’t remember anything. What was going on? Where was he? What happened?

He could feel his heart pounding inside of his chest and his breathing becoming quicker with each passing second. Why was it hard to breathe? What was going on? He couldn’t he breathe, why can’t he breathe?

In the back of his mind some thoughts filter through, ones that didn’t feel like his own. _Control your breathing, in through the nose and out through the mouth. You need to calm down._ Those thoughts seemed to be controlled and not panicked. They didn’t help much though because he kept panicking. He was now beginning to become light-headed, his heart was pounding and his chest felt tight. Why couldn’t he remember anything? What was going on?

_In through the nose and out through the mouth._

That thought came in his mind again and not knowing what else to do he listened to it. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth like it instructed. After a while he becomes thankful that he listened to the odd thought in his mind because soon enough he could breathe again, the tightness in his chest eases and his heart also slows down as his head clears.

Once he seemed to be in control, he pushes himself up into a sitting position and surveys his surroundings. He was currently on a plush bed with a thin blanket over him. In front of him was a wide rectangular room. A desk and chair were pushed against the adjacent wall where a small window was above it, a door was on the opposite side and on the wall opposite to the bed there was another door.

There wasn’t much else to take in, the walls were a cream yellow, the furniture was brown, and the bedding was a deep red colour. While sat on the bed he felt out of place, he was somewhere he couldn’t remember and surrounded by things he didn’t know. It felt wrong. _He_ felt wrong and he couldn’t describe why. Though it wasn’t hard to guess that his memory problem was having an impact on his feelings.

He needs to find out more. He needs answers.

Staying on the bed wasn’t getting him anywhere so he decides to get up. Once on his feet he finds that he’s dressed in simple clothes, a plain red shirt and loose black pants with nothing on his feet. He moves gingerly about the room, peering at the furniture trying to pick up on anything that would tell him more. There were no pictures hung up in the room and there seemed to be nothing personal lying about which could give him some clues.

However, just as he was about to enter the door opposite the bed, the door to his right opens. It reveals a man in a long green and gold robe who strides into the room like he owns it. As the unknown man walks in he feels all of his hair stand on end and not knowing what else to do he quickly creates distance between them by standing on the opposite side of the bed.

A tense atmosphere develops within the room as they stare at one another, both silently observing the other. He can’t help but notice that no good feelings come from seeing this man. He felt like he knew him but again, it didn’t feel right, it felt wrong like something was off. He simply couldn’t remember what or why to justify those feelings.

“Nice to see you finally awake. How do you feel?” The man asks.

He swallows, “Where am I?”

The stranger doesn’t seem surprised by the question or his bluntness. “I understand that you may be confused, please allow me to explain.” He starts to slowly pace the room, sending glances at him with every few steps. “You were involved in an accident. There were… _bad people_ after you, ones that wanted to hurt you. They nearly did but luckily I was nearby and got you away, unfortunately not without damage. From the accident you lost your memories. You’re here because it’s safe and because I want to help you.”

He blinks at the man as he explains. He’s lost his memories. Something bad happened and now he can’t remember anything because of it. What was so bad to cause something like that to happen? Who was after him and why? He had so many questions he wanted to ask but he found he couldn’t voice any of them. The man opposite him seems to understand his silence.

“It’s going to take time to recover. It’s undetermined if you’ll ever get your memories back, but know this: _you are safe here_. No one can hurt you anymore, I promise.”

He doesn’t know why, but those words send chills down his spine.

Somehow he finds his voice. “What’s my name?” He asks in the end. While he certainly wants to know the major stuff he also needs to know the little stuff, all the little details he no longer knows but feels like he really should. He can work his way up to the big stuff.

The man’s gaze pierces him, “Your name is Timothy Drake and I am Ra’s al Ghul.” He pauses and heads back towards the door he originally walked through. “Now come with me. We can talk and start getting you up to speed with things you would like to know.”

He hesitates, going with this man doesn’t sit right with him but what other choice does he have? He can’t remember anything and if this man can tell him the answers he needs, then why not?

In the end he cautiously walks towards him, his bare feet stepping on the thin carpet on the floor until he reaches the door, then together they exit the room and head down a corridor he unsurprisingly doesn’t know.

Time seems to blend together after waking up with no memories for the first time. Tim plods through each day, trying to keep himself busy but most of all trying to learn who he was. Despite his amnesia he still remembers a lot of things, he still has those basic functions where he can read, write and name things. The only thing he seems to be missing is information about himself, his family, friends, basically his life.

It frustrates him that he can’t remember them, he really wants to but his mind is blank every time he tries to think about them. Ra’s doesn’t help in that regards either. The man doesn’t offer information to Tim about his personal life before the accident. He does, however, help Tim everywhere else he can. Ra’s teaches Tim about the world which he had forgotten, teaches him some history, how to cook, what types of nature there was, he even teaches him some self-defence and how to fight.

Even though the man comes across as friendly and helps him, Tim still gets an uneasy feeling every time he’s near Ra’s. Even though it’s been weeks since he first woke up, the feeling hasn’t gone away. It also doesn’t help that there’s a voice in the back of his mind telling him he should be getting out of there, that he should get as far away from Ra’s as far as possible.

Tim’s never listened to that voice because where would he go? He’s living in a place that’s in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but vast emptiness. If he did leave he would be on his own with no hopes of having shelter, food, transport or anything! Also, if he did leave how would he start finding his family? How would he know where to go? He’s sure there was a way somehow but until he works out the solution, he’s stuck where he was for now.

It’s now, weeks after Tim first woke up, that something major happens. He and Ra’s were in what resembles a living room playing a game of chess when the window suddenly explodes into thousands of tiny pieces.

Tim startles so badly he actually falls off the sofa. There in front of him were two men, one was dressed like a bat who had a cowl over his head and the other wore black and blue spandex with a mask over half of his face. Next to him Ra’s stands up straight, whips out a sword from somewhere and stands defensively against the two attackers.

“Enough is enough Ra’s, let him go!” The black and blue man snarls. He bares his teeth and gets into a defensive position opposite them.

Ra’s looks over his shoulder and down at Tim, “Timothy, remember when you first woke and I told you that bad people wanted to hurt you?”

All Tim could do was nod in answer. His voice was caught in his throat as he stares at the two men in front of them. There was an unfamiliar tugging happening inside of him, there was something about them but Tim couldn’t put his finger on what it was. They seemed familiar but he doesn’t know how.

Ra’s authoritative voice breaks his thoughts, “It was these exact people who wanted you harm you. Go to your room and _do not_ come out until I come and get you. Understand?”

Tim numbly nods again, still staring at the other two men with wide eyes. Before he could react further the black and blue man was shouting and rushing towards them, Ra’s meets him halfway and in a blink they were engaged in a fight. The man dressed like a bat soon joins them fighting.

Not knowing what else to do Tim flees and heads towards his bedroom, doing exactly what Ra’s told him to do. As he runs through the corridors the tugging feeling doesn’t go away, it only seems to intensify.

He knows those people, somehow he knows them, but Ra’s said they wanted to hurt him. Did he know them because they had been after him before he had amnesia? In the back of his mind something was screaming at him, telling hm to go back and fight, this is a chance to get free and to get away from Ra’s.

He ignores it and runs into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him as he passes through it. After shutting it, Tim slumps against the door with a heavy sigh. Who were those people and why did they seem familiar? That tugging feeling was still inside of him and it’s like an itch he can’t scratch, they mean something to him but what?

Tim doesn’t get to dwell on his thoughts for very long because suddenly there was a bang on the other side of the door. Tim yelps in surprise and darts away from the door just in time as it gets flung open. A different guy from the other two men enters his room. This man was dressed in a leather jacket, body armour, gun holsters, the guns he happened to be carrying and a red helmet. The third stranger looks around the room as if searching for something and pauses when he finds Tim standing a couple feet away staring at him.

Tim has no idea what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t the way the guy relaxes and puts his guns away. “Thank god. Right, we don’t have much time but the planes out back so let’s go.”

Before he could react, the helmet guy was turning around and exiting the room. Tim doesn’t follow as he’s completely frozen in place. A few moments later he reappears at the doorway, like he realised that Tim wasn’t following him.

“What the fuck Tim? Come on, _let’s go_ , now’s not really the time to get lazy.”

Tim blinks at the man in bewilderment. He knows Tim’s name and just like with the other two, that tugging feeling inside of him was there. He knows this guy too but once again he can’t place who he was or why he felt familiar. Then again he may know his name because he was after him for bad reasons.

Tim’s lack of response seems to agitate the man because suddenly he was storming towards Tim and grabbing his wrist. “Alright replacement, let’s go. Enough of this shit.”

By the time Tim gets over himself he was being dragged down the hallway. After a few stumbling steps, Tim starts to fight back. “Hey! Let me go asshole!” He starts hitting the man’s wrist to try and loosen his grip, he kicks out towards his legs in hopes of gaining some advantage. The guy was huge in comparison to him, so Tim would have to get sneaky in order to break free.

“Ow hey! What the fuck? Tim!”

Tim twists out of the grip and uses some of the moves Ra’s had taught him to get away. Once free of the man’s grip he jumps backwards and creates some space between them. “Leave me alone, I have no idea who you are but I’m not going anywhere with you!”

The man falters at his words, “What? What the hell do you mean Tim?”

Tim goes to respond but doesn’t get the chance to. The man before him was speaking up again, muttering “oh shit” before turning around and running down the corridor.

“Timothy, are you alright.”

Tim looks over his shoulder to find Ra’s walking towards him with a concerned look on his face.

“I’m fine. I didn’t get hurt.”

His wrist was a little red from being grabbed but apart from that he was fine physically. Mentally, however, was another story.

Ra’s refuses to give the answers he want. It’s been a couple days since the attack and Ra’s wouldn’t tell him anything. It was grating on Tim’s nerves. Not only was Ra’s suddenly being very secretive but the tugging feeling inside of him has not disappeared since those masked men attacked. Tim can’t explain how or why, but he knows those men somehow.

It doesn’t help that Ra’s is being secretive about the whole thing. He wouldn’t tell Tim anything about them or even why they attacked other than ‘ _they wanted to take you and harm you’_. Ra’s had been secretive prior to the attack anyway, there were things he refused to tell Tim about regarding his memories (particularly anything personal such as family and friends) but now the man just seems on edge all the time and would not communicate with Tim like he had been before.

Tim had been wary of Ra’s before the attack, but now he was just downright suspicious of the man. Something was going on and it was something to do with those masked people Ra’s refused to tell him anything about.

Another few days had gone by by the time Ra’s finally approaches him. He was sat in his bedroom, minding his own business by thinking about the life he couldn’t remember, when the man walks in. Whilst he doesn’t say anything against the actions, Tim hates it when Ra’s walks in without an invitation, it makes him feel like he’s trapped in the one place he feels the most secure.

“Timothy,” Ra’s greets him.

Tim sits up straighter on his bed but doesn’t move to get up. “Ra’s. What can I do for you?”

“There are matters I need to attend to, which means I will be leaving for a few days.” The man informs him. “I have security surrounding the area just in case another attack occurs while I am away to help you feel safe, however once I return we will be leaving and staying at another residence. Please be prepared to leave as soon as I return.”

Before Tim could say anything the man leaves the room. Tim blinks at the now empty space feeling annoyed, so what, he doesn’t get a say in the matter? He’s just expected to drop everything and go with Ra’s? Of course he doesn’t have a lot to begin with but that wasn’t the point.

The way he treats Tim seems to be more like a prisoner or a slave that’s supposed to be nothing but obedient. He doesn’t know how long this behaviour had been going on for before he recognised it but it certainly adds to the list of reasons why he’s more suspicious of Ra’s than before.

Ra’s leaves that night and for the first time Tim finds that he’s on his own. Well he wasn’t technically on his own, there were others about but Tim wouldn’t interact with them so he may as well be on his own anyway. Instead of going to bed like he normally would Tim decides to explore.

With Ra’s away it means he has more leeway to explore the place he’s been living in since he woke up with amnesia. There were rooms which Ra’s wouldn’t allow him in, at first Tim had respected that, understood that it wasn’t his place but now he doesn’t give a fuck. These locked rooms just mean more secrets and Tim wants to know them.

He goes to one of the rooms and picks the lock with some tweezers he had found, this was something he didn’t even realise he could do but yet it felt so natural to do it. Tim walks into the room and closes the door behind him.

He surveys the room in curiosity, finding that there were multiple safes scattered around the room attached to the walls all at different heights, there was a large set of draws pushed into one corner of the room and finally in the centre of the room was a long metal table. Tim has no idea what this room could be used for. It was clean and not dusty but there wasn’t anything that stood out to him.

He goes over to the draws and experimentally tugs one and blinks in surprise when it opens up. Tim couldn’t help but snort, even without his memories he knows that this is just poor security. Whoever made this, probably Ra’s, didn’t think very hard about how to keep unwanted hands from wondering where they shouldn’t be. Either that, or he was _too_ confident in his ability to stop something from entering.

The first draw has nothing in it. The second has several metal pieces in it, they were what Tim would call ninja stars but these were in the shape of a bat. He picks one up gently and weighs it in his hand, as he does a strange feeling washes over him. The metal pieces felt familiar, like he knows what they are and where they came from, though once again he just can’t remember the details. He puts it back and moves on.

The third draw has more of a variety of items which all seems to be communication gear. There were a few different earpieces, a walkie-talkie and a headset of sorts. What catches Tim’s eye was the little black box that was sat there. There were a couple different buttons on the side, it has a screen on the front which was dark but apart from it didn’t seem anything special. Tim pockets it, deciding that he can play with it later on.

Having had enough of the room, Tim closes the draw and exits the room, making sure to shut the door behind him. He can come back another time to try and work out a way into the safes around the room. He locks the door and moves onto the next room he’s not allowed in.

After searching through three rooms he’s not allowed in, Tim calls it a night. Even though Ra’s is gone and will be for a couple of days, Tim doesn’t want to push his luck. He can explore the rest tomorrow after some sleep.

Once he’s locked the third door he heads back to his bedroom. When he gets there he flops down onto the bed prepared to fall asleep in that position. Tim doesn’t though, because a couple seconds later he remembers the device he had pocketed from the first room.

He brings it back out and studies it. The device wasn’t much bigger than his palm, there were no obvious marks on it to say what it was nor where there any labels saying what the buttons were. Tim fiddles with it, clicks a couple buttons and tries to turn it on.

Tim spends five minutes trying to get it to work. When it doesn’t do anything he huffs in frustration, “Well this is just stupid. Unless it’s out of charge or something.”

Unknowing to him at the time, his voice is the thing that turns it on. Tim almost drops the device when the screen suddenly lights up, seconds later there was a symbol appearing on the screen in the shape of a bat. Tim frowns, what was it with all the bat shaped stuff? Was all this from that man dressed as a bat who attacked him days ago? Why did Ra’s have his stuff?

Tim fiddles with the device further but doesn’t get anywhere with it. All that happens was the bat symbol stays on the screen. In the end he gives up and decides to actually go to bed, deciding he can work out what it is in the morning.

When Tim wakes up the next morning the first thing he does is check the device. He’s a little disappointed to find that the same bat symbol as before was still on the screen. He puts it down and starts making a mental plan of what he’s going to do for that day as he gets ready.

His mental plan soon goes out the window 10 minutes later as he’s having breakfast. He was in the middle of eating his toast when he could hear commotion going on around the house. In an instant Tim’s alert. Could it be those masked men from the other day again? Could it be someone else? Hopefully the security Ra’s had set up do their job and stops them from getting to him.

Just in case, Tim grabs the nearest thing to him that he could use as a weapon which happened to be a butter knife. Not the most dangerous thing in the world but for now it’ll do.

Tim stays standing in the kitchen trying his hardest to listen to what was going on outside. There were shouts and what seemed to be gunfire but then it all suddenly stops and everything goes silent. Tim wasn’t sure what he was expecting but the front door opening and a familiar voice shouting in was not something he thought about.

“Tim? Tim you in here?” It shouts. As Tim hears the door close he moves from his spot and tucks himself behind the kitchen door in attempts to hide himself. Despite the voice seeming familiar he had no idea who it was.

“Timmy, come on buddy, we’re here.” Another voice speaks out. It was another voice that seemed so familiar yet Tim still couldn’t work out who it belonged to.

“Right, I’ll check the top floor and you scout down here. Yell if you find him, who knows what else has happened to him.”

Tim stops breathing as he hears footsteps heading towards the kitchen. He listens as the person moves about the living room before entering the kitchen to where Tim was hiding. He tightens his grip on the knife getting ready to attack when the person finally comes to view.

It was the black and blue man from the other day. It was the same attackers after all. The figure sweeps the room but as he turns around to leave his eyes catch Tim half hidden by the door. He freezes in place and holds his hands up, “Tim, I know your probably confused kiddo, but I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Tim swallows thickly. There were a mixture of things screaming at him right now, telling him to trust this figure in front of him, that he knows this person, how his words were the truth.

Not moving from his spot Tim glares at him, “What do you want? Who are you?”

“You sent an alert to us last night. Do you remember that? We were nearby ready to come and get you out of here. We’re sorry we didn’t the other day but Ra’s isn’t here right now meaning this is a perfect opportunity for us to go.”

Tim thinks about this, how did he send an alert? The only thing that would have…. his eyes go wide at the realisation. That device with the bat on it was some sort of signal.

He thinks over everything that’s recently happened. How secretive Ra’s has been since these people attacked the first time, how he wouldn’t tell Tim anything about his personal life or who his family were, how the device and bat shaped things were locked up.

“We know each other don’t we?” Tim asks tentatively. When the man smiles and nods Tim carries on. “You’re not going to hurt me then?”

The guy shakes his head, “Absolutely not. Tim… we’re family okay. I’m your brother and so is the other one who’s here with me. We’ve come to take you home.”

Despite Tim not knowing him, even he could pick out the hope in this man’s voice. This was his _brother_ , he _does_ have a family.

But what if he’s lying? He could just be saying that to get Tim to go with him.

“Tim, I know it’s hard to believe but _please_ trust me here. Not only that, but back home we may have a way for you to get your memories back.”

Now that has certainly got Tim’s attention. If there was one thing Ra’s has not offered or even spoken about was getting Tim’s memories back. He just pushed the subject to the side, stating that it’ll only be a matter of time on whether he gets them back or not.

“If I go with you, what’s going to happen?” Tim questions him. There was no way he was going to go with them without not knowing what was going on. Even if the man tells him a load of bullshit, at least it’ll be something.

“We’ll take you home, get you looked at and try to get your memories back. From there I can’t say, it depends on the outcome of whether you get your memories back or not. But the most important thing is that you’ll be _home_.”

“And I’ll be away from Ra’s?”

“100% away from him.”

Tim swallows thickly and makes a decision. He loosens his grip on the knife and steps out from his hiding place. “Fine.”

If something goes wrong, which is highly likely, Tim will try and get out as soon as he can.

Things become a blur of events from there. They meet with another man, the one with the red helmet who was carrying a bag over his shoulder. The two masks have a quick quiet word while Tim gathers up some of his belongings. Afterwards they leave the house and drive a good 20 minutes away until they come across the plane.

Not having seen anything like this before (from what he can remember), Tim stares at everything. It felt so familiar yet so foreign. In the end he straps into one of the chairs and tries to ignore the looks the two men keep sending his way. Tim still didn’t know whether he could trust them or not, but all he could do now was wait as there was no turning back once they lift off into the air.

When they arrive at their destination Tim is hurried out of the plane and into some sort of cave. There were many floors to the place all with different equipment on them. Workout stuff, computers and monitors, vehicles, costumes, lots of different items… _and was that a giant penny?_

Tim gapes at everything, hating that again it all feels familiar but yet he doesn’t remember any of it.

“Well?”

The voice snaps Tim out of his staring. He looks ahead to find two men coming towards the trio. The black and blue man instantly steps forwards and addresses them, “We’ve got him and just as predicted Ra’s wasn’t there. The only problem is that he’s still amnesic. He didn’t recognise me and I had to convince him to come.”

The two new men look at him and Tim stares back, fighting the urge to shrink under their gazes. They were both large men who easily tower over him. One had black hair, was wearing a white button up and slacks, the other was green and wearing a blue cape. In the back of his mind Tim knew who these people were but unsurprisingly couldn’t place their names.

The black-haired man addresses him. “Tim, thank you for coming. I understand that it must be confusing but hopefully we can sort everything out.” He raises a hand to his friend, “This is J’onn. He may be able to help you recover your memories if you let him.”

Tim looks him over sceptically. He has a feeling there’s more to it and how he’s not going to like it, however if he wants his memories then he needs to do whatever it takes to get them back.

“How?” Tim questions. He still wants to know the details of course.

“I will have to enter your mind, young one. I can hopefully work out what has been the cause of your amnesia, whether it was a natural cause or forced. To do that, I need permission from you to enter your mind.”

Tim glances at everyone else to see them staring at him. He looks back at J’onn. “If you find the cause would you be able to fix it?”

He gives Tim an earnest look, “I will not lie to you but I cannot promise anything. If I can, I will do my best to fix the problem, however there is a possibility I will not be able to. I cannot say until I have look.”

Tim swallows. He doesn’t like the idea of someone poking around his mind, except he wants his memories back. He _needs_ them back and if this is an opportunity to do so then he has to take it.

“Okay. I give you permission, do whatever you need to if it means getting my memory back.”

After that they make Tim lie down on a bed they have in a medical bay, J’onn stands at one end near his head while the others gather at his feet. Tim blinks up at the ceiling which was soon replaced with J’onn’s face. “I need you to relax and let me in. I will not do anything other than search through your mind for the cause of your memory loss.”

Tim nods his understanding, he takes a breath and lets it out, forcing himself to relax as J’onn places his hands by the sides of his head. Once he touches Tim’s head, Tim’s world goes dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second part to the story! It wasn't necessarily needed but I wrote it anyway because I wanted to. This chapter may not be what people expect but hopefully you all enjoy it nonetheless.

If you were to ask Bruce what one of the worst things are in life, he would respond with one word: waiting.

He hated waiting. Especially when it involved waiting for one of his children to wake up from some kind injury that's ended up with them being unconscious for who knows how long and the under lying question of _‘would they even wake up?’_

It’s the worst kind of dread that Bruce has probably ever experienced. Performing surgery on one of his kids was awful in itself but with the idea that they still may never recover was just something he couldn’t describe and most certainly something he didn’t want to think about.

He lets out a deep breath and tries to move away from those morbid thoughts. As easy as it was to, thinking negatively wouldn’t help the situation he’s found himself in now. His third youngest son lies on the medical bed next to him. Tim was asleep and would be for another hour or so.

J’onn had left just over 20 minutes ago after confirming that Tim’s mind had indeed been tampered with so he would lose his memories. The Martian had reported that he’s done what he could to help Tim get his memories back, however there was still a chance he wouldn’t wake up with them.

That’s what Bruce was waiting for. He was waiting for Tim to wake up to see if his son’s memory was restored or if he would remain amnesic. Even though Tim was physically unharmed, this was just as bad as when he was waiting for one of them to wake up from a life-threatening injury. That dread, fear, anger and sadness just building up inside of him waiting to be released depending on the outcome.

From where he was sat in a chair by Tim’s bad, Bruce glances at his other sons in the cave. Dick was at the computer while Jason was down on the training mats beating the crap out of a dummy. He’s aware of Damian up in the Manor currently with Alfred working on some dinner for all of them. Cass was with Barbra at the Clock Tower.

When Tim had been taken from them months ago, they were all distraught. They didn’t know who took him or why. Then eventually they worked it out, found his location and found the dreadful news of Tim being amnesic and not remembering them. Further planning took place in order to get Tim free and get him to the cave where J’onn was willing to offer his assistance.

It’s been a very stressful couple of months. And now Bruce was just waiting for his son to wake up so they could work on the steps of what’ll happen depending on _how_ Tim wakes up.

45 minutes later Tim takes his first deep breath. Bruce was up on his feet in an instant and leaning over the boy to get a good look at his face. Tim’s features soon start scrunching up as his breathing deepens and that's when his eyes flutter open.

As much as Bruce wants to rush Tim, make sure he’s okay and ask him what he remembers he doesn’t want to terrify the boy if it’s all gone wrong. He needs to be careful until they can determine Tim’s mind state.

As Tim was waking up, Bruce was mildly aware of Jason and Dick’s presence behind him. Both brothers eagerly waiting for the younger to wake up.

Tim groans and reaches a hand up to his head as he blinks up at Bruce. A frown appears on his face as he finally opens his eyes up all the way. Bruce holds his breath, anticipating Tim’s first words.

“Ugh. Why does it feel like I got hit by a bus then trampled on by Bane?”

Unable to help himself Bruce lets out a relived sigh at his son’s choice of words. Behind him both of his older son’s chuckle.

“Good morning to you to sunshine.” Jason smirks.

On the bed Tim continues to frown, he lifts his head up trying to find the man, “Jay?” That’s when he spots Bruce hovering worriedly over him. “Bruce?”

“Hey kiddo,” Bruce says gently, “How are you feeling?” He’ll give Tim a moment to get his head together before going through an examination process.

Tim groans and starts trying to sit up. Bruce bends down, hooks his hands underneath Tim’s arms and pulls him up into a sitting position. Next to him, Dick moves and starts raising the bed up so it was in an incline position, once it was high enough Bruce leans Tim back against it.

His son blinks at him and looks around, as if taking everything in. Bruce sits down on the bed by Tim’s legs and stares at his son. “Tim.” Two blue eyes turn to look at him. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Tim takes a deep breath and lets it out as he slumps against the bed. Reaching up, Tim presses the heels of his hands to his eyes. “God I don’t even know. It’s all so fuzzy.” He removes one hand to peer at Bruce, “Was I really with Ra’s that entire time?”

Before Bruce could respond, Dick steps up beside him. “We didn’t know where you were Timmy. We were looking everywhere for you and once we did find you we did everything we could to get you back home. However Ra’s wiped your memories in that time you were with him, made you question who we were, he tried to twist the story and make us the bad guys.”

Tim lets his arms slump down on the mattress. “Yeah. I think I remember that actually. I remember feeling lost and confused, not knowing who I was or where I came from. Ra’s told me a lot of stuff but anything personal he didn’t share.” Tim looks up at them questioningly “Why did he do it? Why did he take my memories? That’s a whole new level, even for him.”

Bruce wishes he knew the answer to that. He really wishes he could provide Tim the answers he obviously wants, but he couldn’t. Bruce hadn’t yet worked out why Ra’s took Tim, why he wiped his son’s mind and tried to twist the way he saw the world. He doesn’t understand the man’s obsession with his third son, it was all kinds of disturbing but unfortunately there wasn’t a lot he could do about it.

A part of him wanted to lock Tim away, keep him safe and away from any prying eyes but he knows he couldn’t do that. Not that Tim would let him anyway. His son could handle himself and has proven that fact a hundred times over by now.

“I don’t know.” He says truthfully. “I wish I did Tim, I do, but we haven’t worked it out yet. By the looks of it J’onn’s been able to restore your memories, however I would still like to go through the exanimation process with you.”

Tim swallows and nods his head in understanding. “Yeah that’s fine. I’ve been expecting it.”

Jason appears the other side of the bed. He looks down at Tim before looking at Bruce with a raised eyebrow. “You gonna give baby bird here a moment to himself first old man? The kids just had his head screwed by an alien, give him a chance to rest.”

Bruce frowns at his second eldest but it was Tim who verbally protests. “Hey! I’m fine, I can handle Bruce’s examination. I feel fine, okay, just a little tired but I’m good.”

Jason looks away from Bruce and down at his brother, a disbelieving look crossing his features. The two stare at one another for a long moment, having some sort of silent stare down between them until Jason blinks. He raises a hand and smacks Tim across the back of the head before pointing a finger at him. “Don’t you ever do that to us again, you hear me? You snot nosed brat, _don’t ever_ go off the radar like that again.”

They have another stare off but this time there seemed to be less tension and it ends with Jason smiling. He reaches out to ruffle Tim’s hair. “I gotta go. Once Bats is done with ya give me a call and we’ll chat.”

Without any other words Jason turns and exits the medical bay. He disappears out of sight and moments later they all could hear the reeve of an engine start up and as the motorbike exits the cave.

Next to him Dick chuckles. “You all gave us a scare Timbo. We were worried.”

Tim looks up at him, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry. I’ll tell Ra’s the next time he kidnaps me to leave you a note.”

Dick snorts and shakes his head. He lightly shoves Tim to the side on the bed. “Brat. Now you’re awake I’ll go tell Alfred and bring you down something. That sound good?”

“That sounds great.” Tim hums thoughtfully. “I’ve missed Alfred’s cooking.”

“I’m sure you have. I’ll be back in a bit.” As Dick leaves he pins Bruce with a look and Bruce can easily translate it into _‘don’t fuck this up._ ’ It’s a look he’s gotten a few times over the last couple years.

When Dick leaves, it’s just him and Tim in the medical bay. Tim watches Dick go until he couldn’t before looking down at his hands which were now in his lap. He was twiddling his fingers and wouldn’t look at Bruce.

“I’m sorry that I got taken and that all of this happened. I don’t know why-”

Bruce doesn’t hear the rest of what Tim was saying because he’s too busy going over what had just been said. Tim was sorry. Why was he sorry? He sounded so apologetic for it too, like he really believed getting kidnapped and having his mind wiped was his fault.

It was clear that he really needed to have certain conversations with Tim on the subject but those will have to happen on another day. For now he wanted to make sure his son was relatively okay and to clear something up.

Tim was still talking by the time he gets out of his thoughts, so Bruce reaches forwards and cups Tim’s head to hold him steady. Tim’s current sentence trails off and he’s blinking at Bruce with a frown. “Bruce?”

Bruce leans in close to make sure he has Tim’s full attention. “Tim I need you to listen to me okay. _This was not your fault._ Please don’t think that. At all. Because it wasn’t.”

“But Bruce…”

“No.” Bruce cuts off Tim’s protest. “Did you want to be kidnapped?” Tim blinks but shakes his head. “Did you choose to go with Ra’s? Or choose to have your mind wiped?”

His son shakes his head again and whispers out a quiet “no”.

Moving a hand off Tim’s face, he strokes his hair back. “It wasn’t your fault. If anyone should apologize it should be me. I’m the one that let it happen, I’m the one that lost track of you. So Tim _I’m_ sorry that you had to endure all of that. I wish we had found you sooner than we did.”

“That’s okay. You found me in the end and got me back here.” Tim gives him a small smile. “I’m sorry. I just can’t help but think it was my fault.”

Bruce strokes Tim’s cheek. “I know. We all feel like that sometimes, particularly when it’s something we couldn’t control. Are you okay other than that? Any headaches, dizziness, memory gaps?”

“No, like I said, I just feel tired I guess. I think everything that's happened is a little blurry like my feelings are a little jumbled but nothing that is a major concern.”

Bruce nods, happy to hear that. He still gives Tim a firm look however, “That’s good but I want to still do an examination with you. But you can have some rest first and then we can do it.”

Tim nods. “Yeah. Thanks Bruce.”

Bruce pats his head and stands up from the bed. He’ll give Tim some time to rest, have something to eat before making him do anything. For now he can wait around knowing that his son was aright and how his memory loss was just a temporary thing forced upon him.

Once he knows Tim is alright he can move onto working out Ra’s real motive for this particular stunt. He’s sure Tim will want in on the project too. It’s something that’ll take time to work out. However for now, he has his son back, his son who remembers who he is and who his family are. That’s enough to keep Bruce going for the time being.


End file.
